Good afternoon, crossword fans — welcome to Week 182 of my contest. If you’re new to the contest and would like to enter, please see the site FAQ on the left sidebar for instructions.
UPDATE, 11/25, 9:20 PM ET: This week’s meta might be a little tough, so I’m giving the puzzle an alternate title (a more revealing one): “Country Code”. Hope that helps! And no, I won’t make a habit of this…
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS:
Five politicians, one three-letter exclamation. They were:
16-a JOHN GLENN (D-OH)
10-d LARRY CRAIG (R-ID)
29-d ORRIN HATCH (R-UT)
63-a MIKE BEEBE (D-AR)
33a/44a EVAN BAYH (D-IN) (whose clue was starred for clarity)
Prompted by the puzzle’s title, solvers noted the party affiliation and home state abbreviation of each (see above), as often appear on TV screens and newspaper articles featuring the wise members of our political class.
Four of these five letter combinations appear as entries in the grid: RID at 22-a, RUT at 43-d, DAR at 38-a, and DIN at 1-a. The only one missing is D’OH!, making that famous Homer Simpson utterance our contest answer (apostrophe and exclamation point appreciated but not required).
Peter Gwinn writes:
I had noticed this too — I used to shout “D’oh!” every time I saw Dennis Kucinich on TV.
Mike McCormick says:
Not an exclamation you like to associate with an astronaut….
(And that’s not John Glenn on the right but Buzz Aldrin, who lent his voice to that “Simpsons” episode)
Deirdre Zarrillo had no trouble with 39-across:
Probably the only time my name will ever show up in a crossword!
A number of solvers mentioned thinking DEIRDRE must have some role in the meta, with its central location and plethora of D’s and R’s (and even an I). It wasn’t an intentional red herring, though — that’s just the word that fit.
Joon Pahk points out:
if i’m not mistaken, this is the second time that DOH has been the answer to the MGWCC.
http://crosswordcontest.blogspot.com/2008/06/mgwcc002-friday-june-13th-2008-it.html
that time, it was the answer because it was in the grid; this time, it’s the answer because it isn’t.
And, after submitting his answer:
in retrospect it would have been cleverer of me to send in my answer this week by replying to the same email (with the same subject line) from june ’08.
Finally, the great HH points out in comments at Crossword Fiend that:
a list of politicians would be better suited for 4-letter exclamations.
This week’s winner, whose name was chosen at random from the 180 correct entries received, is Jeff Louie of Cambridge, Mass. In addition to a MGWCC pen, pencil and notepad set, Jeff will also receive a copy of my new book 20 Minute While-You-Wait Crossword Puzzles. Next week’s winner will receive either the same or its companion book, 20 Minute On-the-Road Crossword Puzzles.
SQUARESVILLE AGAIN, THIS TIME WITH META:
Jeffrey Harris‘s puzzle this fortnight has a meta! I had no trouble figuring it out — will you?
http://www.janglerspuzzles.com/?p=86
THIS WEEK’S INSTRUCTIONS:
This week’s contest answer is a country on the Eurasian landmass. E-mail it to me at crosswordcontest@gmail.com by Tuesday at noon ET. Please put the contest answer country in the subject line of your e-mail. UPDATE, 11/25, 9:20 PM ET: This week’s meta might be a little tough, so I’m giving the puzzle an alternate title (a more revealing one): “Country Code”. Hope that helps! And no, I won’t make a habit of this…
To print the puzzle out, click on the image below and hit “print” on your browser. To solve using Across Lite either solve on the applet below or download the free software here, then join the Google Group (1,610 members now!) here. To solve with friends at Team Crossword, click here.
Solve well, and be not led astray by words intended to deceive.